https://twitter.com/robertharr
http://seesparkbox.com/
- Operations: Figure out what you make and then spend less
- It is all about cash flow
- Best case scenario, you have 6 mo before going out of business
- Freedom is not free
- Being good with cash today will finance good business decisions tomorrow
- Business forecasting is difficult
- 3 kinds of pricing
- Fixed pricing
- Hourly pricing
- Value pricing
- There is no right answer for pricing model
- Focus on adding value
- They do an initial engagement (small first project)
- Users are bad at communicating what they want.
- Devs are bad at estimating
- They charge $165 an hour for dev and $250 an hour for specific consulting. They are going to be raising their pricing.
- Clients typically don’t share budget. They share a high/low estimate.
- They charge 20% deposit. Won’t start until received. It also reserves the spot on the calendar.
- Weekly invoices
- They work for hire. Client owns all code (even if they don’t pay). Reduces liability.
- Know your terms. Net 30? Net 45? You want it small as possible. Start at Net 14.
- Get a line of credit before you need it.
- Get professional help! Lawyer, accountant, etc. Lean on them but you are responsible for the decision
- Know your legal documents
- Check out here: http://msabundle.com/
- Find some owner friends and share/collaborate
- Train your clients to think about your pricing model
- Have difficult conversations
- Talk to clients every single week about budget
- Talk about the money with business partners
- Decide as a team what parts of a project should be experimented with
- Track your time
- Figure out where your hours go
- Increase your rates
- Find better clients
- Plan for taxes all year long
- Save your cash
- No one should be able to dictate the terms in which you do business
- Two basic rules
- Life is too short to work with people you hate
- If you ever become annoyed by a client, it is only because you are not charging them enough money.
- Confidence is important
- More:
One Comment